NEW YORK — A day after the Nevada State Legislature gave its final approval to public discovery of a new football stadium, Commissioner Rob Manfred laid out the process that still needs to be done for the Athletics’ move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
The next step is for the Athletics to submit their formal transfer request, Manfred said, speaking at the conclusion of the league’s owners’ meetings.
“Obviously, getting the legislation passed in Nevada was really important,” Manfred said. “It’s another important step forward, but there is a very comprehensive transfer process which the club now needs to go through as a precursor to club voting.”
This process begins with the application, which will go to the resettlement committee appointed by Manfred. This application includes a discussion of “the market you’re leaving, the efforts you’ve made there, the market you want to go to, and why it’s better,” Manfred said, at which point the panel will make recommendations on topics, including the operating area and the home television area. The committee will then present its recommendations to Manfred and the Executive Board, with the three-quarters majority vote from the clubs required for approval.
“Tonight, we thank the members of the Nevada State Legislature and their staff for their hard work, due diligence, and attention to detail as we work to bring athletics to Las Vegas,” the club said in a statement Wednesday evening. “We are particularly grateful for the time and dedication of our lawmakers in shepherding this bill through the process, including the special session. We look forward to the governor [Joe] Signing Lombardo is our next step.”
Manfred noted that the league’s policy and preference has always been for clubs to “stay in” in situations like this, adding that the Athletics have tried unsuccessfully for nearly a decade to secure a deal for a new soccer stadium in Oakland.
“I feel sorry for the fans in Auckland; I don’t like this result,” Manfred said. “I understand why they feel the way they do. I think the real question is, what was Oakland ready to do? No Auckland show. They never got to the point where they had a plan to build a stadium on any site. … At some point I realized that this was not going to happen.
There is no schedule for the rest of the transfer process, and Manfred said no decision has been made on where the Athletics will play their games in 2024 if the transfer is approved.
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